Theater Emory announced that it will once again be hosting its annual “Brave New Works” festival, a three-week developmental series that spotlights new works from former and current student artists.
Taking place at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts on the campus of Emory University, this year’s festival features a panel event and two staged readings that focus on “Theater for Young Audiences,” according to a release.
The festival kicks off on Feb. 17 with “The New Play Development Process,” an informative panel discussion that features Moses H.M. (playwright of Shoot the Duck) and Amber Bradshaw (dramaturg), among other scheduled panelists.
“Brave New Works has been such a gift for my growth as a writer and an artist, as I get to dedicate so much time to a play that I love and want to see grow,” said Moses H.M.
Continuing on Feb. 24, the festival will present a reading of Felicity by Emory playwriting student Dylan Malloy.
Directed by Addae Moon, and featuring a cast of Emory students, Felicity is a play that explores the impact that Mars colonization by billionaires has on two teenagers that remain in their drought-stricken town back on Earth.
“I wrote Felicity in 2021 to examine how Earth-altering events (such as climate change and Mars colonization) cause ordinary people to experience longing — for a different life, for closeness with others,” said Malloy. “I’m deeply grateful to Theater Emory for the opportunity … and to further explore the delicate friendship at the story’s center.”
The three-week program will conclude on March 2 with a reading of The Boy Who Rode the Clouds by Emory alumnus Adam Weisman.
The play, directed by Samantha Provenzano, follows a girl that is rescued from a forest fire by a nameless boy, who then takes her to his house in the sky — a home that is made entirely out of clouds.
“Brave New Works is a perfect opportunity to take what I’m learning in my MFA program and apply it to the professional world of playwriting,” said Weisman. “Through this process, I have met industry professionals who continue to inspire me to write for one of the theatre’s least represented consumers.”
All of the festival events are free of charge, with reservations in-advance required to attend.
For more information about Brave New Works, or to make a reservation, visit theater.emory.edu/stage.